Tracheostomy tubes are used to provide a passage for ventilation gas to the trachea of a patient through a surgically-made opening in the throat. The tubes may be of various different kinds. The tube may simply comprise an extruded or moulded hollow plastics shaft shaped appropriately for the patient's anatomy. Alternatively, the tube may be reinforced by means of a helical metal wire or a stiff, helical plastic element. A tube reinforced in this way is protected against radial crushing forces and helps prevent kinking. This enables a softer, more flexible plastics to be used, which enables the tube itself to be relatively flexible.
When performing a tracheostomy, the opening made should be as small as possible, in order to minimize trauma to the patient. This suggests that a tube with a small external diameter is preferable. The problem with using a smaller diameter tube, however, is that this restricts the size of the bore through the tube, making ventilation less efficient and making breathing by the patient more difficult. The problem, therefore, is to achieve a tube with a thin wall so that the bore can be as large as possible and the external diameter can be as small as possible, whilst still maintaining sufficient strength in the tube to resist crushing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative tracheostomy tube.